Maboroshi
by Eroskigal
Summary: Aoko knew there was something she was missing. There was someone whom she couldn't remember. Someone who disappeared like a phantom, and whose presence could be felt in the wind. She knows she's seen his cocky smile and magical antics somewhere before. Soon, Aoko would learn the truth of what really happened that time, between him, her, and Pandora.
1. The Missing

_Maboroshi_

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Chapter 1: The Missing

 _She walked inside her room, a heavy feeling on her chest. There should have been nothing wrong. Her life was continuing as normal. If that was true, then why didn't it feel like it?_

 _She knew she was missing something. Something she felt had been there her whole life. As she thought back in her mind, she couldn't remember what that thing might be. All she knew was that she felt a serious sense of sadness, of emptiness._

 _She had her attention turned to her dresser. On top of it, she saw a beautiful blue rose. Accompanying it, there was a card. It was a purplish color with no writing on the outside. She opened it and found a small letter._

 _"My True Love,_

 _There are a million things I wish to tell you, but I'm afraid my time has run short._

 _As I decide on my next step, know that I am always thinking of you. I'll miss your smile as well as everything about you as I go._

 _I know you may not want to forget, but it's for the best. Live your life in love, even when I am no longer around._

 _I have written you this note to bid you my last goodbyes. I am afraid I will have to leave you behind. I wish you every happiness._

 _And so, I have one last thing so say to you, my tender darling._

 _I love you. You are my most precious friend, and you will always hold a special place in my heart._

 _-Kuroba Kaito."_

 _She stared at the letter, not knowing what to make of it. She looked next to the letter and found a picture of her with a boy her age. A boy she didn't recognize. "K-Kuroba...Kaito..."_

 _She didn't know why, but all of a sudden, tears had started pouring out of her eyes. She didn't know who this Kaito person was, but she found herself in a state of extreme sadness._

 _Soon, perhaps due to an excessive amount of tears, she fainted, leaving the note and picture on the dresser.  
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* * *

Aoko sighed, gathering the remaining books from her desk. That time was coming. That time when everyone would be graduating high school and moving forward with their lives.

Aoko wasn't incredibly worried about it. She had a career choice picked out and everything. But despite that, she felt a sense of dread weighing on her. Unconsciously, she looked to the desk next to her. She was the only person in class without a desk partner, and she couldn't remember why.

But every once in a while, she would look over at the empty desk. She always subconsciously thought that someone was supposed to be sitting there. But the seat wasn't assigned to anyone, and most likely wouldn't be until a new student came in, which was unlikely since it was almost graduation season. The reason she felt this immense dread was because she felt that there was someone, someone important, who wouldn't be graduating with her. And it scared her a little.

Where these strange feelings came from, she would never know. But she knew there was someone. Someone she was forgetting...

As she shook out of her stupor, Aoko took her books and headed out of the room.

* * *

Aoko hated when this happened, but every once in a while, she would get the urge to stare at her phone and wait for a text. She didn't know what she was waiting for, really. It probably wasn't a text from her father, or any of her friends. She didn't feel like she was waiting for a text from them.

In that case, who's was she waiting for. Definitely not some random stranger's. That would be weird. This was shy she hated it so much. Why did she have such an urge in the first place. Waiting for a text from a person that probably didn't even exist. It was a tad ridiculous to think about. And it wasn't like she could send one either. It was rather frustrating.

Aoko sighed and tossed her phone aside, not caring what she was waiting for anymore. Quietly, she sat up and made her way up over to the second floor veranda. The wind gently caressed her as she walked over to the small fence.

From there, she could see the house of her neighbor, a woman named Kuroba Chikage. Her husband, the famous magician Kuroba Toichi, had passed a way a few years ago. She remembered that the couple had never had a child, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered, just maybe...

The full moon was out tonight, the only thing shining in the sky as the stars were hidden by clouds. The full moon always seemed to have strange effect on her mind. Whenever she saw it in person, it always brought to her the image of white. A strange, visible white, standing in front of the moon. She didn't have a clue as to where she had seen it before, but thinking about it always provided her with a bit of melancholy. Like a fleeting, magical moment.

Deep down, she longed to grab onto that white gloved hand that had reached out to her. Not knowing where the memory had come from, she remembered grabbing onto the hand. A feeling of warmth enveloped her whole. If she were to reach out to the moon, would that same hand reach back?

The logical part of her knew it wouldn't, but the childish side was a tad curious. Slowly, she reached her hand up to the moon, closing her eyes and waiting. She never felt a hand. However, what she did feel was something else entirely.

It was the wind. The warm wind seemed to be the one holding her hand. However, even though there seemed to be nothing there, Aoko was positive there was something. Had the hand reached back after all?

Not only that, but the wind had started hugging her, making her feel warm all over. She hugged her own arms, wanting the warmth to last forever. However, despite her wishes, it ended as quickly as it had come. She was left alone again.

Standing on her balcony, she looked back up at the moon. If that really was the hand from her memory, then it meant that something was going on. The dread before graduation. Staring at her neighboring table. Waiting for and important text. And recalling a strange memory.

There had to have been something. Something that had left her life without leaving a single trace behind. She wanted to know what it was, that important thing she was missing. She had to know.


	2. The Dream

Chapter 2: The Dream

"Aoko-chan."

Curiously, the little girl looked up at her first grade teacher.

The woman smiled at her with kindness. "Can you define the word 'Maboroshi' for us, please?"

Aoko blinked, and then nodded slowly. "Maboroshi means 'phantom' or 'illusion'. You know, something that's not really there."

"Very good, Aoko-chan. Now, how about you, Kaito-kun. Can you think of an antonym for Maboroshi?"

The brown-haired boy sitting next to her tensed. "U-Um, not at the moment, Sensei."

She chuckled and moved on to the next student.

Aoko, lost in her daydreams, remembered her primary school days like they had happened yesterday. And now, she was graduating. Time really had flown by, didn't it? Sighing, Aoko knew she still dreaded it. Something was holding her back, and she didn't want to graduate before she found out what it was. She had to fix the problem somehow. "Nakamori-san?"

Aoko snapped her head up to her classmate Akako. "You do realize that class is over, right?"

Aoko immediately realized where she was and what she was doing. "Oh, right, sorry."

As she gathered up her books, Akako tilted her head. "You seem troubled. Why were you staring at the desk next to you?"

At that Aoko stopped. She thought hard about it. "I-I don't know. I just got lost in thought, I guess."

Akako sighed. "Are you stressed about graduation?"

Aoko had packed the last of her books. "I don't think that's it."

She turned to look at the other desk. "Akako-chan, do you ever get the feeling that maybe there's something or someone that should be here with us, but isn't?"

The witch raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Like, at the back of your mind, there's something telling you that something is missing, although your logical mind can't recall it. It's as if the thing or person never existed."

Akako thought. "I'm not sure. Although there have been times I've felt that there was at least one man in the world that wouldn't succumb to my beauty like the others. But that's obviously not true."

"Well, you have Hakuba-kun now, so you don't really need all those men, right?"

Akako smiled. "That is correct. Ever since I found the one man I really want, I turned down the rest. Unfortunate, but it had to be done."

Aoko sighed. Sometimes, these things seriously went to her head. "Why are you asking such a strange question?"

Aoko shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Well, since we are technically 'friends', I guess that means you are free to tell me your woes, and I will listen."

That basically meant that if Aoko ever needed someone to talk to, she was available. Aoko smiled. "Thanks, Akako-chan."

The witch smiled. "Of course. Anytime."

* * *

"Aoko."

The girl snapped her attention to the person next to her. The boy wore a big smile, and he held out an ice cream for her. She graciously accepted, and the two sat down on the bench. Looking at her surroundings, Aoko could clearly ascertain that they were currently at Tropical Land. "So, what time does the movie start?"

She looked at the boy sitting next to her. "What?"

He wore a look of annoyance. "You know, that Kamen Yaiba movie you were going nuts over? Geez, you're so forgetful."

Something came to her. "O-Oh, yeah, right, it starts at eight."

Aoko looked back at the boy to find his Poker Face intact. However, something within her knew what he was thinking. "Are you planning on escaping?"

He tensed, but it disappeared. "What do you mean? You mean running away from the movie? Why would I do that?"

Aoko paused. He had a point. "I-I don't know. I just imagined you skipping out on the movie when I wasn't looking and using the momentum of the rollercoaster to return at the exact moment the movie ended."

He mentally tensed, wondering how she had gotten it on the money. "That's kind of ridiculous, you know."

She sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking."

The two of them soon finished their ice cream and stood up from the bench. "Well, where should we head to next?"

Aoko looked around for the next destination. What she didn't expect was a warm hand grabbing her own. "Aoko."

Her heart sped up and she turned around to face the boy. The scene around them had changed. It was now nighttime. How it had change so quickly, she never questioned it. The man standing before her was now wearing a white suit, with a hat and monocle. "Aoko."

She was pulled into his loving gaze, unable to look away. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't hate it. In fact, it was the greatest thing she had ever experienced. So she kissed him back. Once they had finished, the two separated, although Aoko found herself blushing. "I know this may sound really weird, but I don't even know your name."

He didn't seem offended at that. In fact, he only smiled. "That's alright, darling. It's better this way."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"The less you know, the less pain you'll experience. It's best you forget everything."

"T-That doesn't make any sense? What pain?"

He smiled, albeit it was a bit sad. "I can't tell you. Please promise me that once the night is over, you'll forget everything, without even a shred of remembrance."

She honestly didn't know what to say to that. Although he only stood there, waiting patiently for an answer. Aoko weighed her options. If what he was saying was true, and the lost memory would bring back pain, then it clearly didn't seem wise to chose it. However, not knowing what it was, was torture in and of itself. Not knowing what it was would drive her insane. She had to know, before she forgot forever. Returning her attention, she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't forget. I don't know what you're hiding, but I need to find out."

Despite all that he was saying, his smile seemed a tad hopeful. "Very well then, I guess I will just have to extend my stay, until I make sure that you forget every little thing."

* * *

Aoko opened her eyes, pleased to find that she was now back in the real world. Her clock told her it was two in the morning. Sitting up, Aoko sighed, contemplating her thoughts.

That dream seemed too real to her. It probably was. That person must have had something to do with her strange recollections. He just had to. Whatever he wanted her to forget, she wouldn't allow it. Something within her told her that she had to remember, no matter what.

The person in the dream said that he was going to 'extend his stay'. If she could figure out what that meant, then she might be one step closer to solving the whole mystery. She had no choice other, than to become a detective.


	3. The Visiting

Chapter 3: The Visiting

The flyer had specifically said that there was going to be a new ice cream shop in her own Ekoda district. Aoko decided it would be a nice change of pace from her regular, stressful life, so she wanted to give it a try. She would have invited some of her other friends, but they all had plans. Going alone wasn't ideal, but it was better than doing nothing from home.

Now that school had ended, it was the perfect opportunity. As she was walking out of the schoolyard, her mind couldn't help but wander back to the dream. It was very real and very familiar to her. And that boy. Who was he? And over all, what was going on? There had to be something, something bigger going on in the background, Aoko knew. She knew she once had to have been a part of it. But then, why couldn't she remember?

She started to feel as if she had been left out on purpose. Why?

As she thought about this some more, Aoko felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, the same feeling she received when she felt someone watching her. Quickly, she turned around, only to find no one there. That was definitely strange, but Aoko had no choice other than to keep moving.

As she kept on walking, Aoko went back to her previous thoughts. She decided she would start by analyzing the bits and pieces of her dream. In the first part, she was sitting on a bench in Tropical Land while a familiar yet strange boy gave her some ice cream. It was clear that she agreed to go of her own free will, but it was a dream, so she didn't remember that part. It seemed so natural, yet at the same time, so foreign. Aoko, for some reason or another, had a feeling that the boy was planning on sneaking off during the movie she was so looking forward to. Although she didn't know why he would even think of doing something like that.

There it was again. That strange feeling that signaled she was being watched. There was no one around who seemed to be looking at her, so who might be the one? With the perpetrator still unidentified, Aoko went about her journey, currently approaching the crosswalk.

The boy soon started acting different, and the scene changed to night. The boy was now wearing a white suit, complete with a cape, hat, and monocle. What he was doing by wearing such a getup, Aoko would never know. The next thing that happened was something that still had her a tad tongue-tied. He had kissed her without any hesitation. That was one of the more confusing parts of the whole matter, so she decided to skip over it for now. Suspiciously, Aoko looked around. If it were the case that someone was watching her, then she would have to be on her guard.

Aoko would son be approaching her destination, only a few blocks away. Finally, the last bit of the dream was what he had told her. He said he would be staying, until she had forgotten everything, basically. Who was he, and why did he want her to forget? He also said something about pain. Personally, she didn't care if remembering had brought her pain. She only wanted to remember. Otherwise, she felt that she would lose something very important. Something that she could never get back, for it would go beyond her reach, into the sky and above the stars.

As Aoko remained lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice a group of three walking up behind her. Her guard had dropped since she got lost in her thoughts again. One of the figures behind her quickly approached, and even went as far as to wrap their arm around her. "Heya, Aoko-chan!"

The girl in question recognized that voice. She looked up to find a very boyish-looking girl smiling at her. "S-Sera-san?"

Aoko turned around to find two others, a girl with a spike coming from the front of her hair, and a boy with a cowlick. All of them wore the uniforms for Teitan High School. Ran smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Aoko-chan."

She smiled back. "You too, Ran-chan, Shinichi-san."

Sera broke the hug. "So, what brings you out here today?"

"I should be asking you that. Don't you all live in the Beika area? Why come all the way out here?"

"Well, we found a brochure for a new ice cream shop, so we thought we might try it out." Ran answered.

Just then, something occurred to Aoko. "Wait, were you three following me earlier?"

Shinichi scratched the back of his neck. "Um, yeah, kind of. We had to pass by the school to get here. We saw you walking, so we followed you. It was Sera-san's idea, though."

Sera only smiled. "I'm not gonna deny that. So, where were you headed?"

"Actually, I was going to the same ice cream shop."

"Cool! Let's all go in!"

Aoko was glad that company had found her. It would be better than going in alone. She would have to save her dream analysis for later.

* * *

They shared a booth, Aoko and Sera on one side and Shinichi and Ran on the other. If she was being honest with herself, Aoko had always found something odd about Shinichi. Aside from being a famous detective, he was just a normal Highschooler, so there shouldn't have been anything odd. But for some reason, Shinichi seemed to remind her of someone. The way he looked and talked were both very similar to someone. The person from the dream, maybe? "Um, Aoko-chan?"

Aoko came out of her stupor and looked at Ran. "What is it?"

"You were kind of staring at me." Shinichi answered.

Sera smirked. "Oh? Does somebody have a crush on Shinichi-san?"

Aoko immediately rose to her defense. "What? No! Of course not! Shinichi-san has Ran-chan! And besides, I'm in love with-"

Aoko had stopped there. She honestly didn't know where that last sentence had come from. The rest of the group was only staring a her.

"In love with who?" Ran had asked.

Aoko didn't know what to say. There was no one whom she loved like that. And yet... "I-I don't know."

Sera put a hand on Aoko's shoulder. "Aoko-chan, is something wrong? You've been looking all somber ever since we started following you."

Aoko forced a smile. "I'm fine. Really. I guess I'm just stressed over graduation."

Shinichi thought. "Oh yeah, that is coming up, isn't it?"

Ran sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's kind of depressing to leave everything behind, but at the same time, it's a bit exciting to see what happens next."

"Not to mention those college entrance exams that eat you alive." Sera noted.

"That's right, so don't be nervous, Aoko-chan, it'll be alright."

Aoko smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know."

The group of four soon finished their ice cream and headed out. "So, do any of you have plans? If not, we could stay here and keep Aoko-chan company." Sera suggested.

Ran nodded. "I wouldn't mind. Although I have to be home before sunset."

Shinichi nodded as well. "I have nothing else to do right now really, so I'll stay."

Aoko smiled at this. She was happy that her Teitan friends, although they lived in a whole other district, they were willing to spend time with her. "Kyaaaa! He's dead!"

Both Sera's and Shinichi's detective instincts kicked in, and they immediately ran off in the direction of the scream. Aoko was curious as to what the commotion was, so she and Ran followed after.

After pushing though the crowd, Aoko's eyes widened. A middle-aged man was lying dead on the ground.


End file.
